At the UN climate summit, the Least Developed Countries bloc and small island states tabled papers saying the deal should be finalised within a year. Many of them are vulnerable to climate impacts such as drought or inundation.
The move puts the blocs on a collision course not only with many rich nations, but also with developing world partners such as China, India and Brazil. These three developing world giants believe talks on a new mandate should not begin now because developed nations have yet to fulfil existing commitments.
But their smaller peers believe there is no time to lose.
“We put forward our mandate for a new legal agreement today to get things moving quickly in an effort to respond to the urgency of our challenge,” said Selwin Hart, lead negotiator for Barbados, speaking for the Alliance of Small Island States (Aosis). More
